Changes

The days are getting shorter, the sun setting much earlier. There is that sense of urgency to enjoy the last warm rays of sunshine before it gets too dark to be outside after dinner.

One particularly cool morning last week I couldn't help running outside and snapping these shots. It was shocking how low the temperatures had dropped overnight. The clouds were low and heavy, dew was clinging to every surface, and it felt like finally Autumn had arrived.

Changes of another kind are happening too.

My little boy is not slowing down. (Surprise, surprise.) He tries to climb the stairs (but we've already had a big enough scare--we've cordoned him off). He's figuring out how to open cabinets and drawers (yes, the honeymoon is over!). He's starting to babble more, do "pattycake" and "so big", and is confidently pulling himself up on WHATEVER he can find (including my leg while I'm trying to move about the kitchen).

And, speaking of those we love...my little brother just moved cross-country. :o( We're excited for him and Sarah as they begin this new adventure, but we're sad too. He left this morning.

Here is a shot of both of my little brothers and I from this weekend. (Joe is on the left, Ryan is the one that moved and he's on the right. I don't need to say who the girl with the goofy grin is in the middle.)

5 Words Meme

My friend Lynn is helping me out of the blogging rut I feel I've fallen into. Between being busier that I expected so far this fall, potty-training (STILL), and all the other things going on in my life, I've just run out of ideas.

It's all part of a meme that you can do too if you'd like. Here's how it works. Someone gives you 5 words and you post about those things. If you want to join in, tell me in the comments section, and I'll send you your own 5! Here are the words Lynn sent me.

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1. ART: as far as hobbies go, it's my first love. You could say it's in my genes. Siblings, cousins, parents, aunts/uncles, grandparents--there is definately an artsy, creative gene that runs strong among both sides of my family.

My favorite medium is pencil. A close second is charcoal. My favorite subject matter? People. It's been a long time though since I've completed a portrait. Having kids kind of does that to hobbies that require hours and hours upon end. Currently I'm hoping to learn more about photography and acquire some technique where all I have now is an artistic eye.


2. FALL: Autumn is my absolute favorite season of the year. I wish I could switch the duration of fall with winter here in Lancaster County. I love making soup and fresh bread, smelling the scents of harvest in the air, sleeping with the windows open under a cozy comforter, apple crisp, pumpkin bread, bright blue skies with cottonball clouds, farm fairs, woodsmoke, walking through crunchy leaves in the woods, wearing jeans, and of course gearing up for the holidays.

You know how in the beginning of the movie "YOU'VE GOT MAIL," Meg Ryan's character is recounting all the things she loves about Autumn in New York? The smell of freshly sharpened pencils, farmer's markets, the brisk morning air...

I find the fall season, here in the countryside, to be the most sensory for me. I just love it!


3. TEACHING: Never did I imagine that I would be a teacher. For one thing I was always on the shy side as a kid growing up. Wait, let me rephrase that. I hardly talked to anyone as a kid. I was REALLY quiet. As a teen things got better but I still hated to be up in front of a group of people and preferred small groups of people I knew well. Then I went overseas on a missions trip after graduating from high school and everything changed. Drastically. Long story short, I ended up teaching full-time in our previous church's school for 4 years and L-O-V-E-D it! All of the varying classes and majors I had throughout college prepared me quite well actually. Little did I know how God was going to tie all those strings together in the end, but He did...and I miss it. (Though I am really satisfied to be at home with my kiddos full-time.) Oh, and I taught high school World History, Geography, World/American/British Literature, Writing, Rhetoric, and Art.

The things I miss most about it? The kids and staff, but also the constant stretching and challenging my brain. Though I must say, parenting stretches and challenges my brain in other ways.


4. EXERCISE: I have a love/hate relationship with exercise. :o)

I used to be very active and athletic. Now? Not so much. Whereas I used to never have to do anything to maintain a healthy weight, now I struggle with it...alot. Whereas I used to starve myself and have a distorted body image, now, by the grace of God, I no longer view food as the enemy. Currently, I feel I eat pretty well but my metabolism is pretty pathetic. My goal is to get back into a regular walking routine since our neighborhood has a lot of great places to do so and I have a nice double stroller. And really no excuses. :oP I miss my walking buddy. Since she moved and I've had kiddo numero dos my motivation for exercise has sadly gone out the window.

I find myself in the midst of that proverbial motherhood dilemma: if I place a higher priority on exercise, some other "important" thing is going to suffer. However, if I don't take better care of myself, my children and husband will ultimately suffer anyway.

What I'd really enjoy would be the means and time to play racquetball at least once a week. I did this during college and I loved the quick-paced, challenging cardio/muscular workout it always delivered.


5. TRAVEL: I got my first real taste of travel in the early part of '96. I mentioned before how I entered a missions program after graduating from high school. After spending 3 months in training, my team and I spent 1 month in one of the many poor neighborhoods of Guatemala City, GUATEMALA, followed by 3 months in the mountains above Tegucigalpa, HONDURAS. Needless to say my horizons were widened, my world view expanded, my comfort zones vaporized. :o) It was the most challenging experience of my life up to that point, and one of the best. It was also a turning point for me spiritually.

Since then my husband and I have been to Venezuela on a 2 week missions trip. We did that 1 month after we were married. And it is our dream and goal to make at least 2 trips to Europe. I want to see where he spent his first 14 years, we have friends living in England for another year or so, Pete has family in Belgium, Austria, Germany, and Poland, and I would love to see Italy and France too. One day... :o)

Books Made Into Film

MY SISTER'S KEEPER

I couldn't put it down.

Wow.

I wanted to read this one especially because it came out in movie form just recently. I ALWAYS like the book better than the movie, but that's not necessarily a put-down. There are some well-made film adaptations out there, but you take 300+ pages and condense it into 2 hours and it's rare to catch all the components that make a book great.

It was weighty, sometimes dark and bleak, but it had a good deal of wit along with the grit.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with the plot, the story follows the life of 13-year-old Anna Fitzgerald, who enlists the help of an attorney, Campbell Alexander, to sue her parents for rights to her own body. Kate, Anna's older sister, suffers from leukemia, and their parents conceived Anna through in-vitro fertilization to be a genetic match donor for her sister Kate. Anna donates genetic material throughout her life, such as blood and bone marrow; every time it was assumed that she would do so. No questions asked. Now, their parents want Anna to donate a kidney to Kate, but Anna instead files a lawsuit against her parents for medical emancipation so she will not be forced to donate one of her kidneys to her sister.

Once more Piccoult delivers her trademark twist, right at the end. Ooooo, it's a doozy!

I can't wait to see the movie. It's on our Netflix Queue.

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Another book made into film that I just finished is MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA by Arthur Golden.

I watched the film years ago when it first came out, but didn't pick up on all that was going on. Now that I've read Sayuri's memoirs I'm anxious to see the movie again.

In Japan, during the 1940's, two Japanese sisters are sold to Mr. Tanaka because their poor, aging father and dying mother can no longer take care of them. From that moment on, it is a series of tragedies. The sisters are separated; the older one sent to a brothel and the younger one, Sayuri, the heroine of the story, is sold to the house of a geisha. Sayuri has to pay her dues and owes a large sum of money before she can earn her freedom.

We are told the word geisha means artisan. The difference between a geisha and a prostitute is that a geisha is trained in the art of entertaining, which includes among other things the ceremony of serving tea and arts like classic Japanese dancing, reciting poetry and playing musical instruments. All these traditions are used in the geisha houses--okiyas--to entertain their guests, mostly married men of financial independence.

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Two really well-written books. I'd highly recommend them both.

YUM!

I love ALDI's. I know I've said that before, but it must be said again.

Look what I found yesterday.

You like Nutella? Chocolate? Wafer cookies?

It's like a little package of happiness. :oP

(I know I'm a bit biased, but Europeans sure know how to make fine chocolate!)

Resolutions

Being a homemaker is one of those job descriptions that is all-encompassing. And it seems there is always room for improvement.

I feel I've grown in some aspects, like cooking. The other night my husband was oohing and ahhing over something I whipped up (especially when he heard I didn't use a recipe) and I blushed and beamed my thanks. You see, when we were first married I knew how to bake cookies and cake, make scrambled eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches, and boil water. You laugh but I'm not exaggerating...much.

So I freely confess that in the beginning, my household management (cooking, cleaning, maintaining) as a whole was at best haphazard. Nine years later and things have definately improved, but I still feel I have much room to grow.

I've become a planner, and my detail-orientedness is a blessing (if I don't get too rigid), but I find I strive harder in the areas I like, and in the areas I don't prefer, I get lazy. Like cleaning. (Oh, to have inherited my mother's love-to-clean gene!)

A few weeks ago I began looking ahead to my Fall and started mapping out my weekly schedule as I do every year at this time. This planning session also helps me get back into a regular routine again, which I like and summer always seems to debunk. As I'm doing this I also identify one or two areas in which I want to grow. Last year it was meal-planning and using the cash-only method for grocery shopping. This year I hope to take a more intentional approach towards the non-weekly cleaning in my home.

I know there are websites devoted to such things as this, like Fly Lady for instance, as well as decluttering and removing the look of chaos from your house. I never liked clutter, so that's not necessarily one of my weak points. MY thing is that whenever we're having guests over I see every little smudge on my light switch plates, dust on the ceiling fans, cobwebs on the baseboards, and I launch into psycho mode. Ya got me?

Now, in the midst of all of this planning I'm asking myself, "Where is the balance? Where am I too uptight and rigid? Too lazy and nonchalant? Are my priorities in line? Am I exchanging what is good for what would be best?"

Still...I need a plan.

Any ideas?

How often do you "deep clean"?

Do you routinely go through closets, pantry shelves, and storage spaces?

Are your deep cleaning sessions short and spread out over the year, or sporadic and intense?

How do you manage those countless "little" tasks that are easily overlooked? (Like wiping out the silverware tray.)

(Long comments welcome!)

Say Cheese!

Every summer I've taken a few pictures of Natalia at my parent's house. This year I didn't get it done in time to catch the sunflowers and black-eyed susans in all their glory. But, I made an attempt to capture the kids on film last weekend.

The first thing I'll say is that it's much, MUCH harder when there's two. I know, I know...duh!

Natalia was sooooo much harder to get a good picture of because she would figet. I probably should have started off by having her sit in most shots. That would have helped to alleviate the funny stances and hand motions. Ah well. You learn as you go.

Adam was easy peasy! Aside from his poker face which cracked us up, (picture three adults doing gymnastics behind me to get him to smile) he would break into these ear-to-ear grins.

Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

Snippets

Until canning season is complete I feel my blog has been pushed to the back burner. Such is life.

Here is a look at what we've been up to in the last few weeks.

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Sour Cherry Pie:

It's my husband's favorite pie and he specifically requested it for his birthday.



I also wanted to try this recipe from Pioneer Woman's website.

To say it was really yummy seems like an understatement. Just the name, "COFFEE CAKE. LITERALLY." speaks for itself, no?

Teething:

Adam's been a trooper through it all but somedays it just gets old, know what I mean?

Being outside:

We've had some GOR-GE-OUS weather this past week. SUCH a relief from last week's heat and humidity.




Chasing the kiddos:

Adam now has two speeds. 100 MPH and ASLEEP. He's crawling, pulling himself up on things, getting stuck under the dining room chairs, and investigating everything. This is how I found him this morning.


Looks like it's time to lower the crib mattress...AGAIN.


Filling up the basement pantry shelves and freezers:

Corn, peaches, diced tomatoes, pears, enchilada sauce, and sour cherry pie filling. Soon we'll prepare applesauce to freeze and then we'll be finished. Phew! :o)



Spending time with family:

My youngest brother Ryan and his girlfriend Sarah are moving to Berkley, California and so we've been getting together as much as possible in the weeks remaining.


This picture is a bit outdated, from 3 summer's ago, but the only one I have of the two of them together.

And now we're transitioning back into the school schedule.

I'm honestly really looking forward to this fall and getting back into a more predictable routine from week to week. I have a new Mom's group I'm going to check out with the kids, I have some research to do regarding PreSchool and whether or not we'll enroll Natalia anywhere in a year or two, and of course there are the delights of autumn to enjoy...my favorite time of the year is just ahead. :o)